UK Scientists Run Trials On Drug That Prevents Infection Leading to Covid

UK Scientists Run Trials On Drug That Prevents Infection Leading to Covid.

British scientists are trialling what could be a game-changing new drug that could prevent someone who has been exposed to coronavirus from going on to develop Covid-19- experts say the drug could save thousands of lives. The antibody therapy would confer instant immunity against the disease and could be given as an emergency treatment to hospital inpatients and care home residents to help contain outbreaks.

The University College London Hospitals NHS Trust (UCLH) is currently looking at an antibody which could offer long-term protection to patients when it would be too late to offer a vaccine, as part of a new trial dubbed Storm Chaser. Antibodies are protein molecules that the body produces to help fight infections.

Researchers in the study, led by UCLH virologist Dr Catherine Houlihan, have already recruited its first participants. The research group believe the antibody – known as AZD7442 and developed by AstraZeneca – may offer immediate and long-term protection to people who have recently been exposed to the bug.

Dr Catherine Houlihan, a virologist at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust (UCLH) who is leading a study called Storm Chaser into the drug, said: “If we can prove that this treatment works and prevent people who are exposed to the virus going on to develop Covid-19, it would be an exciting addition to the arsenal of weapons being developed to fight this dreadful virus.”

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